Factory for the production of toothbrushes. Location and length of bristles

Almost every person uses one or another tool for regular hygienic cleaning teeth. Most residents of developed and developing countries I am used to using plastic toothbrushes with artificial bristles. Plastic is an inexpensive material. In addition, it cleans well, which prevents the growth of bacteria on hygiene items.

However, plastic brushes that help people maintain healthy condition oral cavity are a real disaster for environment, which was already discussed in the description of the idea of ​​​​producing paper tableware. US residents alone throw away 450 million plastic brushes each year, only a small fraction of which are recycled. Therefore, American designers and entrepreneurs John and Heather McDagall decided to create effective tool for everyday oral hygiene that is safe for nature.

John and Heather created toothbrush Bogobrush, using the knowledge gained from his dentist parents. In addition, brother and sister Makdagal studied the structure of hygiene products from the world's leading manufacturers. They released a bamboo toothbrush that meets the following characteristics:

Ideal design for comfortable use of the tool. The round handle of the brush prevents the brush from being fixed in one position, which often causes poor quality teeth cleaning when using brushes with a rectangular handle.

The anatomical shape of the head guarantees the removal of plaque from all surfaces of the dentition.

The brush handle is made of bamboo. This material is easily cleaned, like plastic, which prevents the growth of bacteria. At the same time, bamboo is completely decomposed into natural environment, which automatically reduces the problem of environmental pollution with plastic waste. Bamboo also has the ability to grow quickly. Finally, these raw materials have a relatively low cost, just like plastic.

The bristles of the tool are made from one of the isomers of nylon, which decomposes in the natural environment within a few months. It belongs to the so-called bioplastics.

Heather McDugal brought brushes to children in need

By purchasing a Bogobrush from John and Heather McDugal's online store, US residents automatically donate the same hygiene item to people in need. Importance social component this business becomes clear if you look at the statistics on the availability of quality dental care in the world. For example, in the USA, one of the richest countries on the planet, about 80 million people are unable to pay for dental services.

Business idea: production and sale of bamboo toothbrushes in Russia

Russian entrepreneurs can use the idea of ​​John and Heather McDugal to organize a business project in Russia. The domestic version of the hygiene brush may have an improved design. Firstly, this will increase the value of the brush for consumers, and secondly, it will avoid any legal claims.

Russian entrepreneurs must adjust pricing policy. Bogobrush brushes cost $10 per unit in the US, or $40 for an annual set of four. Domestic consumers should be able to buy bamboo brushes at a lower price.

The Bogobrush sales model can be adapted to Russian reality:

An online toothbrush store in Russia may abandon its social component. In fact, buying one hygiene product, American consumers pay for two (the second goes to people in need). This increases the cost of production.

Bamboo brushes can be actively promoted through online companies and communities of “environmentally conscious” consumers. People buying phosphate-free washing powder and organic food will buy a biodegradable toothbrush faster than someone who knows nothing about harmful effects phosphates on the body and the environment.

Required Resources

Design services, partnerships with manufacturers from China and the website are the resources necessary to implement the idea.

A designer can use the Bogobrush as a starting point when designing their own model, but the shape will need to be refined. The design specialist should draw on the experience of leading brush manufacturers and also seek advice from dental experts.

John and Heather McDugal set up production of Bogobrush brushes in China. They justify this by the low cost of raw materials (bamboo) in this country. In turn, Russian entrepreneurs must take into account the low cost of labor in China. Therefore, concluding an agreement for the production and supply of bamboo brushes with Chinese companies will be the optimal solution for Russian businessmen.

An online store website can run on a free CMS, since only one product will be placed on it. At the same time, entrepreneurs should pay attention to promoting the project on social networks.

The idea of ​​producing and selling biodegradable bamboo toothbrushes will primarily be of interest to entrepreneurs who manufacture and sell eco-friendly products. They will be able to expand the range of products. This idea has good chances for success, as the fashion for organic products in Russia is growing.

Dmitry Dementiy

The name of the first inventor of the toothbrush is almost impossible to name - it has not been preserved in the pages of history. But we know for sure the place of invention: China. This event took place around 1497-1498. Sources even indicate the exact month - June.

Of course, dental hygiene was strictly observed back in Ancient Greece, Egypt, Babylon. But there, basically, they used either chewing plates or sticks, chewed on one side (for cleaning teeth and gums) and pointed on the other (toothpick).

The invention of the Chinese was that the toothbrush became compound. That is, wild boar bristles were attached to a bamboo stick. In this form it came to Europe.
In 1950, a dentist from California, Robert Hudson, patented the world's first toothbrush with soft nylon bristles, which featured rounded, non-traumatic bristle tips. He called his invention simply “Toothbrush”, which in English is “Oral-Brash” or “Oral-B”. The very first brush model also had a simple name - “Oral-B 60”, which meant a toothbrush with 60 tufts of nylon fiber bristles. The “know-how” was produced in a small home workshop, where the product was assembled almost by hand from plastic and ordinary bristles.

Toothbrush market Soviet Union was, frankly speaking, backward, people used hard toothbrushes made of natural fibers or nylon, and the shape was classic, just like abroad. In order to make the fibers softer, resourceful citizens of the USSR used a fairly simple method - they immersed the brush in hot water. Even now, if you boil a fluffy toothbrush, it will try to return the previous shape of the bristles. Only after the collapse of the USSR, residents of the union learned about the diverse world of toothbrushes.

New time - new brushes

Along with the USSR, toothbrush production also died. A holy place is never empty, and “inefficient” socialist production has been replaced by “effective” transnational companies and China, which is just beginning its capitalist path. The happy Soviet people learned what the Western diversity of capitalism is. Appeared huge amount toothbrushes imported from all over the world. The Soviet GOST and quality mark were abolished and it became possible to import anything. Three transnational companies were the first to enter the market of the main part of the USSR and later Russia:

The brand "Oral-B" (for wealthy people) and "Blend-a-med" (for less wealthy people) - belongs to the American giant Procter & Gamble;
- Brand "Colgate" (for less wealthy people) - owned by the American giant Colgate-Palmolive Company;
- Brand "Rich" (for wealthy people) - owned by the American giant Johnson & Johnson.

With American spontaneity, they drove everyone out of the market except the Chinese, because the Americans don’t know how to fight the Chinese due to the impossibility of earning less than 100% of the profit, and they occupied 80% of the toothbrush market, leaving little for their friends to eat.

The brand "Aquafresh" (for the middle class) belongs to English giant GlaxoSmithKline. The remaining world-famous brands "Pepsodent" are the British-Dutch company Unilever, "Crest" belongs to the American giant Procter & Gamble and other brands are on the market in Russia and former USSR in statistical error.

Since the main trade in Russia is carried out through chain stores and hypermarkets, manufacturers with a small markup do not have the opportunity to pay veiled bribes under the guise of entrance fees, bonuses, displays, promotions at their own expense, etc.

China, which at that time was deeply parallel to the copyrights of the West, did not fail to fill the markets, stalls and small shops of Russia and the entire former USSR with fakes and copies of these brands. With China's steady industrialization, quality inevitably increased. Transnational companies began to transfer production to the Middle Kingdom and engage only in trade. On at the moment 90% of toothbrushes are produced in China. Transnational companies are only customers and brand holders.

Today in Russia and former countries Only a few companies produce toothbrushes in the USSR. Among them:
- Thermo company. It produces mainly brush products for technical purposes, and there are very few toothbrushes, mostly in the cheapest version;
- The Glavkosmetika company, which produces its toothbrushes under the Strela brand.
- Brush Master Company in Belarus;
and perhaps that's all...

At the end of the 90s at Russian market The brand of toothbrushes "Soldier", which was produced in Moscow by Indian businessmen, was actively promoted, but they, too, could not withstand the competition with transnationals, closed production and sold off the equipment.

It was in such a “friendly” situation on the market, and in the absence of government support, that the company PO LenPlastPolymer decided in 2006 to start producing toothbrushes in St. Petersburg. As of 2013, the company has established production of about 50 various models toothbrushes in various categories and price segments under the MAX brand, as well as private brands. We export to other countries. Since 2012, the production of antibacterial toothbrushes with nano-silver particles in the bristles has been launched.

Bristle with nano-silver, as well as simple nylon-610-612, is produced by the American chemical company DuPont, one of the largest in the world. The company is the inventor of many unique polymer and other materials, including neoprene, nylon, Teflon, Kevlar, Mylar, Tyvek, etc. The bristles of this company are used in 90% of toothbrushes in the world.

Myths about toothbrushes

For many decades, the toothbrush had a classic configuration in most countries of the world. This is a plate with tufts of pig bristles inserted into the holes. Toothbrushes differed only in size and number of tufts of bristles. Even rows of bristles of the same height are a classic model, it is optimal for any person. With the invention of nylon, pig bristles were replaced. Nylon is more wear-resistant, cheaper and aesthetically pleasing. The myth that natural bristles are porous and accumulate bacteria was invented to quickly switch to cheaper technology. Another myth from transnational corporations the idea of ​​replacing toothbrushes every three months on the advice of dentists was also invented to extract the greatest profit.

In my experience talking to dentists, they know no more about toothbrushes than a plumber. Purely technologically, a toothbrush needs to be changed when the bristles lose their properties. The higher quality the nylon, the more It can withstand bending without losing its original shape. Well-known corporations also use this property. They put cheaper nylon on the toothbrush and the consumer has to change it more often. The quality of nylon cannot be determined by appearance.

By the end of the 20th century, toothbrushes had become complete and functional view, moved into the category of everyday and monotonous goods. To revive sales, innovations in toothbrushes emerged in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Both useful and advertising. I would consider useful the arrangement of some rows of bristles at an angle (cross to cross) for better cleaning interdental space and an elongated spout for better cleaning of distant molars, as well as various shapes handles (everyone can choose the most optimal one for their mouth and hand structure).

Innovations such as rubber inserts for gum massage rather save the manufacturer bristles and their benefits are, to put it mildly, questionable, and a brush for cleaning the tongue is back side heads in general publicity stunt. If you can't wait to scrape your tongue, take a special scraper. This won’t do any good, at least you won’t waste time. This category also includes floating heads, bendable handles, and radial bristles. Also, the different-level arrangement of bristles only reduces the service life of the toothbrush. The latest thing that has appeared in the world in the non-electric toothbrush segment is antibacterial toothbrushes with silver ions.

The manufacturer of this bristle, DuPont, received an international certificate in 2012. The manufacturer claims that the added solution of colloidal silver during the manufacture of nylon has further antibacterial effect similar to water in a silver vessel. We just have to believe that this is so. Since 2013, the LenPlastPolymer software company, using the most popular 3D model, has released a 3D Ag+ toothbrush with this bristle.

It was also developed in principle new model 5D Ag+.

The difference between this model and the others is the five enlarged tufts of bristles. These bundles, glued into the handle new technology, allow you to double the number of bristles on a standard toothbrush head area, which increases cleaning efficiency by 50%.

Choose toothbrushes not by big names, but by quality and effectiveness. Why pay money for a name and not for a toothbrush. Markups on toothbrushes of transnational corporations range from 100 to 1000% of cost. You pay for their huge advertising budgets. Save your money! It's better to spend it on something useful. For example, for a good book.

Zabordinov Maxim Vladimirovich.
Director of production at LenPlastPolymer software

A snow-white smile adorns any person and attracts those around him. From childhood, children are taught to brush their teeth twice a day. The toothbrush becomes necessary tool, the demand for which is very high every day. Therefore, this discovery is very promising.

A toothbrush is a necessary hygiene item

All about toothbrushes

It is necessary to have an idea of ​​how diverse the range of toothbrush products can be.

They are divided according to the degree of hardness:

• Hard (fiber diameter can reach 0.24 mm)
• Medium (parameter decreases to 0.2 mm)
• Soft (fiber diameter 0.13–0.18 mm).

There are also super-hard brushes designed for cleaning artificial teeth in false jaws.

The brush itself consists of three main parts: the handle, the head and the so-called neck that connects them. It is very important that the brush handle fits well in your hand and does not slip.

The shape of the head may resemble an oval, be rectangular or polygonal. Very great attention You need to pay attention to the material that will make up the bristles. Options that are used most often:

– natural fibers (usually pork hairs);

– artificial fibers (in practice this is nylon).

The brushes are also different:

– by the number of rows of hairs;

– along the length of the hairs;

– in terms of functionality: there are brushes only for cleaning teeth, there may be options with a tongue cleaning function.

There are a lot of toothbrushes produced, to stand out, you need to make a very interesting or functional design. Traditionally, using cartoon characters on packaging or handles attracts children's attention. Adults will love brushes with a hook on the end for hanging. Even before production begins, you need to create a product catalog so that wholesale buyers can choose the option they like.

Production process

Before purchasing raw materials for the production of brushes, you need to familiarize yourself with the regulatory documentation. First of all, this is GOST 6388-91, as well as the corresponding sanitary standards.

Materials and technology must necessarily comply with them. It is also necessary to request certificates from raw material suppliers that will indicate the safety of the product.

The production of toothbrushes must be certified. The brushes themselves must also undergo a voluntary certification procedure, while children's versions must undergo mandatory certification. Otherwise they cannot appear on sale. The corresponding mark is applied to the product packaging.

The materials you can choose for making toothbrush handles are:

• Plastic
• Rubber
• Bamboo

Most often, manufacturers of raw materials offer certain blanks that are already adapted to the appropriate design.

The production of toothbrushes will require significant investments at the start, because you need to purchase the appropriate set of equipment. It includes:

• bush planter;
• grinder;
• bristle straightening and trimming machine;
• horizontal and vertical injection molding machine;
• packaging equipment;
• packaging machine;
• injection molds;
• devices for photo printing and text printing.

Production technology

Automatic production lines allow you to quickly create toothbrushes. But the process itself involves going through several stages:

1. First you need to prepare the pads.
2. The raw materials for the handle and head usually come in the form of balls, which need to be brought to a liquid state and poured into metal molds.
3. At the same time, other workers prepare the bristles.
4. Using a special machine, the bristles are leveled and trimmed.
5. The bristles are attached to the head.
6. Decorate the brushes.
7. Package finished products.

Modern lines allow you to trim the bristle fibers at an angle or attach them at an angle. It can be painted, thereby attracting the attention of consumers and creating an individual design.

Business plan development

The purchased equipment must have additional functions, which will provide flexibility when increasing capacity, as well as ensure more efficient operation.

To organize production, you need an area of ​​at least 50 square meters, and an additional area for storage space will be required. If a children's line of brushes is to be produced, it will usually be organized separately from the main one.

A fairly large staff is required from the very beginning of production. Among the main specialists who will have to be hired are:

1. Equipment operators (up to 10 people).
2. Technologist.
3. Mechanic.
4. Designer (you can collaborate on outsourcing).
5. Marketer.
6. Sales Manager.
7. Storekeeper.
8. Loader.
9. Lawyer.
10. Chief accountant.
11. Occupational safety specialist.

Management positions will most likely be filled by business owners.

Finished products

Sales points

Toothbrushes are sold in the most various places: from large retail chains to stores at gas stations.

The classic sales channels for toothbrushes are:

– retail stores and retail chains (almost 50% of the total volume of brushes produced);

Typically, all brushes produced are sold in Russia (almost 75%), the rest are purchased by wholesalers from the CIS countries.

Such a familiar brush

Price issue

The payback on the initial investment is usually at least one and a half years.

The annual turnover with a well-planned promotion program is about 20 million rubles. The main expense items during the year will be:

1. Rent of space for a workshop - 50 thousand rubles.
2. Purchase of equipment – ​​100 thousand rubles. As the dollar rate rises, the cost will increase.
3. Expenses for marketing and certification – 12 million rubles.
4. Payroll – 400 thousand rubles.
5. Tax deductions – 80 thousand rubles.